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The Southern California Evidence-based Practice Center

The Southern California Evidence-based Practice Center is part of the Evidence-based Practice Program sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) since 1997. One of 11 such Centers nationwide, the Center:

reviews all relevant scientific literature on a wide spectrum of clinical and health services topics to produce various types of evidence reports. These reports may be used for informing and developing coverage decisions, quality measures, educational materials and tools, clinical practice guidelines, and research agendas;

conducts research on methodology of evidence synthesis;

provides technical assistance to professional organizations, employers, providers, policymakers, etc., to facilitate translation of the reports into quality improvement tools, evidence-based curricula, and reimbursement policies; and

updates prior evidence reports.

The Center combines the talents of RAND and its four California health care institutions:

What's New

Osteoporosis is a major contributor to the propensity to fracture among older adults, and various pharmaceuticals are available to help prevent fractures. Researchers reviewed FDA-approved medications for at-risk older adults and found strong evidence supporting several medications for preventing fractures, but comparative effectiveness remains unclear, as does how long to treat and what the appropriate role is for monitoring bone density while on treatment.

A systematic review revealed that vaccines administered to U.S. children are very safe, and side effects are extremely rare. The small risk of side effects must be weighed against the great protective benefits these vaccines provide.

RAND Researchers from the Southern California Evidence-Based Practice Center are part of a team of experts consulting on a series of videos about autism spectrum disorders being produced by the University of Southern California's School of Cinema. The videos and related website, Interacting with Autism, are designed to help autistic individuals, their families, health care providers, and educators make informed choices in recommending and pursuing the most effective approaches for specific individuals diagnosed with autism. Mark Harris, the executive producer of the series, is a three-time Oscar winner for best documentary.

Incentives offered by the U.S. government have spurred marked increases in use of health information technology (IT). Evaluation of implementation and functionality revealed strong evidence for health IT use in certain areas, and difficulty determining why some implementations are successful but others are not.

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